Abstract
Several research efforts from different areas have focused on the execution of UML models, resulting in a diverse and complex scientific body of knowledge. With this work, we aim at identifying, classifying, and evaluating existing solutions for the execution of UML models. We conducted a systematic review in which we selected 63 research studies and 19 tools among over 5400 entries by applying a systematic search and selection process. We defined a classification framework for characterizing solutions for UML model execution, and we applied it to the 82 selected entries. Finally, we analyzed and discussed the obtained data. From the analyzed data, we drew the following conclusions: (i) There is a growing scientific interest on UML model execution; (ii) solutions providing translational execution clearly outnumber interpretive solutions; (iii) model-level debugging is supported in very few cases; (iv) only a few research studies provide evidence of industrial use, with very limited empirical evaluations; (v) the most common limitation deals with coverage of the UML language. Based on these observations, we discuss potential research challenges and implications for the future of UML model execution. Our results provide a concise overview of states of the art and practice for UML model execution intended for use by both researchers and practitioners.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2313-2360 |
| Number of pages | 48 |
| Journal | Software and Systems Modeling |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2019 |
Funding
Table 6 shows the distribution of the identified limitations and needs for improvement across our primary studies. Among them, the most common type of needed improvement is expressiveness enhancement with respect to the coverage of UML concepts (31/63); this result is not surprising, given the huge number of concepts of the UML metamodel; indeed, as of today the UML metamodel contains 264 classifiers (including abstract classifiers) such as Class, Object, Activity, Transition. It is understandable that many research teams do not have the resources for providing a complete approach with respect to the full set of concepts related to specific UML diagrams since they may be hundreds. In this context, an interesting perspective is provided by the potential added value that a dedicated company or a university spin-off may give to provide more complete tool support. An example of this positive synergy is the Eclipse Papyrus project, which started as an open-source project lead by the LISE team of a research division of the French alternative energies and atomic energy commission (CEA) and is supported by an industry consortium under the Eclipse Foundation umbrella now.19 Acknowledgements This research was supported by the Knowledge Foundation through the SMARTCore (http://www.es.mdh.se/projects/ 377-SMARTCore) and MOMENTUM projects (http://www.es.mdh. se/projects/458-MOMENTUM).
| Funders |
|---|
| Stiftelsen för Kunskaps- och Kompetensutveckling |
| Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives |
Keywords
- Code generation
- Model compilation
- Model execution
- Model interpretation
- Systematic review
- UML
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